Merged 5.9 Quake Hits Virginia

[Brown]

In 2005, I was in San Francisco for a conference, in a rather nice part of the city. I could not help but notice how much GLASS was used as a building material. Considering the history and reputation of the city, it struck me as odd that there seemed to be glass everywhere ... although it is possible, I suppose, that some kinds of glass in an earthquake are relatively safe materials.

 

[bigred]

Had another after-shock about 1 AM today. Also mild but OK that's enough now.

 

[Skeptic]

Apparently it's down to oil drilling and extraction.

​

I'm pretty sure that email is intended as a joke.

I hope so, at any rate.

 

[slingblade]

While disagreement abounds on this topic, scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) say that oil production can cause earthquakes, but not the kind reported in the news.
According to the Rigorous Intuition, some earthquakes, such as the 2004 quake that triggered a deadly tsunami in Sumatra, occur at plate boundaries where hard, rocky slabs slide against each other to release tremendous amounts of energy. Oil generally is found in permeable sediments that are soft and squishy, not in hard rock. When this squishy land moves, it releases a small amount of energy, which can lead to a "mini-seismic event"-one that is barely detected on the Richter scale.

Here's how it works: With high-tech equipment, oil companies pinpoint oil-rich areas and use large drills to puncture the surface below the sea, sometimes as deep as 10,000 feet. As this pricey fluid gets sucked from the sediment pores, the surrounding rocks shift positions to fill in the newly vacated spaces. At a large scale, for example the volume displaced when millions of barrels of oil are produced, the land movement can actually cause a mini-seismic earthquake, according to Robert Morton, a USGS coastal geologist.



Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Can_drilling_for_oil_cause_earthquakes#ixzz1W4MCFazo

So the answer, apparently, is yes, it can cause an event so minor, you won't even know it happened.

*yawn*

 

[MattusMaximus]

Doesn't it depend on where you are? I was in a very low density area, a couple of two-story office buildings surrounded by parking lot. It's not like a skyscraper could have shed windows down on me.

A brick falling on your head from two stories up is more than enough to seriously injure, or kill, someone.

 

[I Ratant]

The streets do tend to get full of loose masonry.
Safer inside underneath something for a while, while looking for a safe way out.

 

[Sam.I.Am]

There are plenty of stories about people being killed and injured from falling facades in major (and even some minor) earthquakes. San Francisco homes built before the 1960's had a lot of what was called gingerbread (not the Victorian sort but a faux type). Essentially plaster medallions attached to the stucco exteriors(usually with more plaster) to gussy them up a bit. As people became more aware of the dangers (and 60's modernism styles favored cleaner lines) they were removed by the homeowners when they had their homes painted (also making it cheaper to paint as there was a lot less detail work to be done). You still see a few homes here and there with the decorations intact but they are fairly rare.

There are also a lot of false walls on the tops of buildings that people don't really notice from street level. These can be another source of falling debris.

Finally the exterior finishes of many buildings are not well attached to the walls that they cover. What may look like a brick building may in fact be a wooden one with a false brick covering. These structures flex and sway like a wooden building and can throw off their facades. Stuccoed homes can also peel off large sheets of mortar and fall on you.

Then there's glass that could fall and power lines to be concerned about.

Overall you have much better odds of surviving inside than you do outside in any sort of an urban or even suburban setting. Getting under something fairly sturdy and not having shelving or pictures over your headboard have a much more likely chance of keeping you alive and uninjured than running outside ever will.

 

[TragicMonkey]

A brick falling on your head from two stories up is more than enough to seriously injure, or kill, someone.

It's not like we stood beside the building, we were about forty yards away.

And all of that was ten minutes after the actual earthquake. During, everyone was too busy wondering what was going on to do anything.

 

[Travis]

Here in California we used to be instructed to find a doorway or table. Then they said that doorways were dangerous so just find tables. Then someone else proved tables to be deathtraps.

So now, when the Big One hits, we will simply do the most sensible thing: scream incoherently then shoot ourselves in the head.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Here in California we used to be instructed to find a doorway or table. Then they said that doorways were dangerous so just find tables. Then someone else proved tables to be deathtraps.

So now, when the Big One hits, we will simply do the most sensible thing: scream incoherently then shoot ourselves in the head.

In a previous earthquake, I sought refuge inside an antique wardrobe and wound up in a magical land full of talking animals, some of whom were very preachy for beings who use their tongues for toilet paper. So I said a very firm goodbye, set a few small fires and many large fires, and left the place with my new very fine lion-skin pants. They make my butt look very perky.

 

[bigred]

Here in California we used to be instructed to find a doorway or table. Then they said that doorways were dangerous so just find tables. Then someone else proved tables to be deathtraps.

So now, when the Big One hits, we will simply do the most sensible thing: scream incoherently then shoot ourselves in the head.

oh if only.

 

[Sam.I.Am]

It's not like we stood beside the building, we were about forty yards away.

And all of that was ten minutes after the actual earthquake. During, everyone was too busy wondering what was going on to do anything.

So now, knowing that aftershocks are likely, you wisely went out and walked under something that might fall on you with no warning. Brilliant.

In all seriousness though unless you see that the building is about to collapse or see/smell fire or a gas leak going outside is pointless and may even make it worse if you are blocking egress to emergency vehicles by tying up traffic. People are natural looky-loos so a crowd standing around right after an earthquake must mean (to them) that something has happened and so they slow down or stop to see what the ruckus is about and next thing you know you've got a traffic jam.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Here in California we used to be instructed to find a doorway or table. Then they said that doorways were dangerous so just find tables. Then someone else proved tables to be deathtraps.

So now, when the Big One hits, we will simply do the most sensible thing: scream incoherently then shoot ourselves in the head.

FYI, the deathtrap under a table is a circulating Net myth. Someone has a picture of a smashed table and claims there is some triangle of safety. It's been refuted by more valid sources.

 

[bigred]

And common sense, I would think. If falling debris is an issue, getting under something solid (like a solid table) seems like a pretty good idea to me. This presumes the entire building coming down around you isn't a concern, however.

 

[I Ratant]

Dillard's added an entire building to the Mall. Its structure is steel, with styrofoam blocks for the exterior.
A lot of fancy work nowadays on new buildings is styrofoam.
With a smear of stucco on the outside.

 

[Travis]

FYI, the deathtrap under a table is a circulating Net myth. Someone has a picture of a smashed table and claims there is some triangle of safety. It's been refuted by more valid sources.

I've never seen it myself.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I've never seen it myself.

Snopes has a piece on it, I guess it is called the triangle of life. They quote the guy, Doug Copp, who markets the idea.

However, the advice is potentially life-threatening and the author has been broadly discredited.

Here are some links to follow for more information, especially about the "Triangle of Life".

http://www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/
http://www.fema.gov/hazards/earthquakes/nehrp/hold.shtm
http://www.earthquakecountry.info/dropcoverholdon/oes-drop-cover-hold.pdf

There are more links on the page but they are currently dead. It's not hard to find more info on the Triangle of Life myth, however.

BTW, I found this out because I made the same mistake and someone here corrected me.

 

[Travis]

Here I was thinking calling tables "deathtraps" was too silly to be a real thing.

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Here I was thinking calling tables "deathtraps" was too silly to be a real thing.

I've seen an EQ safety poster, but I haven't found the image online, of an intact school desk with a space under it sandwiched between the huge cement ceiling slab and floor that pancaked down in a large building that collapsed in Mexico City. It's a unforgettable picture.

 

[EventHorizon]

A brick falling on your head from two stories up is more than enough to seriously injure, or kill, someone.

Clearly you've never seen Home Alone 2.